The Ottoman Cage : A Novel of Istanbul (Inspector Cetin Ikmen)

Rating:
Summary: thrilling Turkey police procedural
Review: In the upscale neighborhood of Ishak Pasa in Istanbul, Turkey, a neighbor sees an open door to a house that is occupied by an Armenian. She calls the police and the body of a twenty year old male covered with track marks and garroted is found. Inspector Cetin Ikmen is assigned the case and quickly notices that the young man was in a small apartment, separated from the rest of the mansion. The tenant Mr. Zekiyan is nowhere to be found.

There is nothing in the apartment except a collection of crystal figurines. There are no fingerprints, DNA or trace elements to give a clue to who Mr. Zekiyan really is or who the victim was. The drug found in the victim's system is a synthetic form of heroin available only to doctors. Using informants, Inspector Ikmen discovers that a medical doctor is supplying drugs to male prostitute addicts. While the investigation concentrates on the medical profession, the killer sends the inspector crystal figures like those found in the dead man's home, daring him to uncover his identity.

It is obvious that Barbara Nadel has a love affair with Turkey using the culture of the country as the basis for the murder mystery. The inspector is an interesting and complex protagonist who works himself to death so he doesn't have to cope with nine children, an ailing wife and a delusional father. Though a killer scorning police is old hat, the exotic locale adds an extra bit of spice to a thrilling police procedural that makes THE OTTOMAN CAGE a great treat for armchair travelers.

Harriet Klausner